Derek Carr probably has a better skill set than both guys you mentioned.

From what I've seen, he's naturally talented but it doesn't all fit together. His footwork looks bad; he makes an unusually large jump at the top of his drop. He's routinely falling off his throws instead of stepping in. His level of competition is a flag. His poise under pressure is a concern. He behaves like a douche every now and again on the field when things aren't clicking. And he's got a first round WR helping his stock along with a friendly offensive system.

People say this every time a QB prospect plays with a good college WR.

I am not "people" and I don't always say it. Carr has a nice arm, but Devante is the real star player on that offense. I don't really want to do a comparative writeup on them right now, and I'm not simply dismissing Carr (who I do think belongs in the NFL), but of the two, as far as how well they project to the NFL, Adams is the superior player. He's a late 1st/2nd round player in my eyes while Carr looks like a nice backup to me. I wouldn't trash a team for picking him in the 3rd, but I'll be laughing if he goes in round one like some are calling for. You can't just assume I'm discrediting Carr because Davante Adams is better. I think Johnny Manziel and Mike Evans are both justifiable first round picks, and I think Sammy Watkins is a 1st rounder while Tajh Boyd is similar to Carr. I like Boyd a little better right now, but that could change. I'm not high on Carr because I've watched him, not because a big chunk of his stats have been thanks to Adams dominating every cornerback he goes up against.

Carr was putting up good stats before Adams ever played a down for Fresno State.

Then tell me what you like about what he does. I don't care what his numbers are.

I see a strong-armed kid with questionable pocket presence and footwork who doesn't have to make many reads, in part due to having an elite wide receiver, and throws off his back foot too much when there's pressure in his face. He's got a nice deep ball.

QB scouting is more gut than anything. The knocks on Carr are nearly the same ones people had against Nick Foles at Arizona. In fact the writeup on Foles might have been worse.

Look at Foles now, he's the next-big-thing in the NFL.

I don't think Foles as a pro prospect is any better than Carr, that's why I can see Carr going in the first.

For teams to miss so wildly on guys like Wilson and Foles tells me as much as we like to believe scouting college QBs has made dramatic improvements since the Manning/Leaf draft in 1998, in many ways it hasn't.

Then tell me what you like about what he does. I don't care what his numbers are.

I see a strong-armed kid with questionable pocket presence and footwork who doesn't have to make many reads, in part due to having an elite wide receiver, and throws off his back foot too much when there's pressure in his face. He's got a nice deep ball.

Few college QB's are ever asked to make pro type reads on that level, so criticizing Carr for it seems out of place to me. You could say that about every college QB.
Pocket presence and footwork are a far more reliable criticism but they are correctable if a QB wants to put in the time and effort to improve.
Carr definitely has some warts but you can find that in most good college QB's who are pro prospects, what you cannot find is a pro arm and "a nice deep ball".

I believe Carr will be a 1st rounder even with the bias against him, based on his brother's failure. It is human nature for scouts and GM's to wonder just how much like his brother he is and make them nervous about drafting him too high unless he wows them at the combine. I think this is the main reason why you aren't hearing much more praise about Carr and won't till the combine is in process, scouts and GM's want to see Carr up against the best before passing any kind of judgment on him, until then, he will always be in his brother's shadow..

It is also far more common for a QB to make his WR's look good than the other way around. No matter how good Adams is, he cannot catch a ball that doesn't reach him properly or is late coming to him, so Carr must be doing something right for you to even notice how good his WR might be.

QB scouting is more gut than anything. The knocks on Carr are nearly the same ones people had against Nick Foles at Arizona. In fact the writeup on Foles might have been worse.

Look at Foles now, he's the next-big-thing in the NFL.

I don't think Foles as a pro prospect is any better than Carr, that's why I can see Carr going in the first.

For teams to miss so wildly on guys like Wilson and Foles tells me as much as we like to believe scouting college QBs has made dramatic improvements since the Manning/Leaf draft in 1998, in many ways it hasn't.

Except the level of competition each saw is significantly different. And I'd say being in Chip's offense is boosting Nick as a pro to some degree.

I figure this is an appropriate place to put it, but Gil Brandt is reporting that Bridgewater is considering returning to school. He gives no indication to how serious that consideration is, but I can't see how that's remotely a smart move for him. At least the other star quarterbacks who returned often did so because their teams would be legitimate national title contenders with them there. Louisville is good, but they aren't that good.

I figure this is an appropriate place to put it, but Gil Brandt is reporting that Bridgewater is considering returning to school. He gives no indication to how serious that consideration is, but I can't see how that's remotely a smart move for him. At least the other star quarterbacks who returned often did so because their teams would be legitimate national title contenders with them there. Louisville is good, but they aren't that good.

He has a considerably better chance of going #1 this year than he would next year.

He really has no reason for returning so this is very surprising. He already has his degree and I don't think he's going to be anymore NFL ready next year. The extra competition for the #1 pick next year would also make this a strange decision. Maybe he just really loves college...

Dude is a beanpole. Needs 25 lbs minimum. He needs to go back. The only thing in his favor regarding his size is that the new NFL won't let him get KOed like he would have in the previous years.

Regarding Carr, I see David Carr deux. Remember that David Carr lit it up in college then showed that he had absolutely no clue when he got to the NFL. Even when Kubiak came to the Texans, he couldn't teach the guy. Everyone blamed everything but the kitchen sink on Carr's failure when in fact he was the failure. Got him WR's - fail, got him an OL - fail, got him RBs - fail, upgraded the D - fail, got him new coaches - final fail. GTFO, Carr.

Dude is a beanpole. Needs 25 lbs minimum. He needs to go back. The only thing in his favor regarding his size is that the new NFL won't let him get KOed like he would have in the previous years.

Regarding Carr, I see David Carr deux. Remember that David Carr lit it up in college then showed that he had absolutely no clue when he got to the NFL. Even when Kubiak came to the Texans, he couldn't teach the guy. Everyone blamed everything but the kitchen sink on Carr's failure when in fact he was the failure. Got him WR's - fail, got him an OL - fail, got him RBs - fail, upgraded the D - fail, got him new coaches - final fail. GTFO, Carr.

Both Theodore and Johnny Manziel need to get some meat on their bones but it won't make much differance on their draft stock.

Bridgewater isn't going back to Louisville so not sure why it even came up.

Unless he wants to go behind Winston then he should leave this year. I understand if he wants a degree and wants to win with Louisville and play in the ACC, but the negatives out way the positives for his future if he stays another year.

Unless he wants to go behind Winston then he should leave this year. I understand if he wants a degree and wants to win with Louisville and play in the ACC, but the negatives out way the positives for his future if he stays another year.

Really? We're at this level of the Winston hypetrain now? He's not better than Teddy and he has legit character concerns.